Goreys in Kalgoorlie
I discovered today that one of my relatives was the bareknuckle boxing champion of Kalgoorlie!
I was pretty sure that we weren’t the first Goreys to live in Kalgoorlie. Shortly after I arrived here I met the secretary of the Goldfields Family History Society to discuss setting up a regular historical feature, and I asked her to do a surname search for me.
She came back with the name of James Edward Gorey and the information he died in a mining accident at Marvel Lock in 1914.
I had to wait for my genealogical files to arrive with the furniture to confirm he was related, although the Christian names left me in little doubt. It turns out he was a nephew of my great-grandather Edward Gorey. Read more
Furniture has arrived
Our furniture arrived today. They didn’t finish unloading until late this afternoon, so we’ve got lots of unpacking to do and most things are still in boxes.
At least we’re all sleeping in our own beds tonight.
We nearly didn’t have it delivered today because I had to fax back a quarantine form declaring we had no fruit or vegetables in the container, and I only got back from a meeting before the deadline.
They’re very strick about quarantine regulations in WA, much more so than South Australia, where I crossed the border without fuss. At Eucla they searched my car and confiscated an apple box.
A glitch had to happen
Everything had been going so well it must have been inevitable that we’d get a couple of hiccoughs along the way.
Juliet and Dude both managed to fall ill within two days of arriving in Kalgoorlie. Nothing serious, but we’ve made the doctor’s acquaintance.
Our furniture was meant to arrive today (Monday) but it hasn’t. The removal company doesn’t know where our container is! They think it might be in Adelaide. There was a train derailment between Kalgoorlie and Perth which disrupted all rail traffic.
We now expect the furniture to come on Thursday. Our neighbors have helped out with some essentials in the meantime.
The kids have settled in well at school. Hannans Primary has 430 students and is within easy walking distance. I’m pleased Kathleen was able to start there, rather than go to a high school with over 1000 students. Year levels are different between WA and Victoria.
Kathleen and Dude say hello to Mrs Rampling, Mrs Clapperton, Mr Dwyer and Mr Holden and everyone at Porepunkah.
NAB or National
I take an interest in marketing and the odd behavior of some big companies never ceases to amaze me. The banks are a good example of what not to do.
I used to bank with Westpac. They were the Bank of New South Wales. The transition to Westpac went reasonably well, albeit unnecessarily in my view.
They bought the Bank of Melbourne and in a strange twist of logic the management decided all their Victorian customers would fall under that brand. It was confusing and they changed it back a few years later. What a waste of money on stationery, signage, advertising, etc.
The National Bank has just decided to rebadge itself as NAB.
According to its web site: “We’re still the National Australia Bank. But we’re also calling ourselves NAB; after all that’s what you’ve always called us. Our new logo reflects this and the new energy you’ll start to feel at NAB.”
Sometimes I think marketing departments come up with these strange notions simply to justify their existence. I’ve never called the National Bank NAB and never will.
All together soon
Barring a flight delay, Juliet and the kids arrive tomorrow (Friday). It’s been a long wait and we’re all looking forward to being together again.
It’s been a month and I’m sure the twins have changed in that time.
I was guest speaker at the Chamber of Mines tonight. I’m rusty on public speaking, and can’t say that I enjoy it, but I think it went okay.
UPDATE: Juliet and kids arrived safely on Friday afternoon.
This web site
I’m having to rethink the future of this web site. I established it years ago to communicate with family and friends, publish book reviews, and to give opinions on subjects that interest me.
I had a lot more time previously too, and that’s a luxury I don’t have today.
Somehow this web address was broadcast to half of Kalgoorlie before I arrived here and many people were well acquainted with me before I met them!
There’s some advantage in that. The downside is I feel restricted in what I can say about some issues in case it conflicts with my role as editor. Things that I write here could be misinterpreted as the paper’s official position, rather than my personal opinion.
I can’t be bothered running a disclaimer. More likely I’ll just keep this site for family news, books and computer talk. My “official” opinions can be read each day in the Kalgoorlie Miner.
Performance blogging
I’ve discovered a new blog gadget called Performancing. It includes a Firefox extension that enables blog posting from the browser and formatting.
It works with Word Press and seems a nifty tool.
Ironing blues
It’s a well documented fact the differences between men and women go beyond the obvious features of anatomy. For instance, men have a sense of direction and an ability to park between the white lines that are painted on the road.
Women are much more competent than men when it comes to ironing. I’ve been reflecting on this lately as I rediscover the trials of being a bachelor.
Juliet will arrive in Kalgoorlie-Boulder with the kids later this month. Meanwhile I’m cooking, cleaning and fending for myself as I haven’t had to do for 15 years.
I left home when I was 19, but rather sneakily took my laundry to mum for quite a few years afterward. Read more
Unusual events
I was just writing an email to a former colleague when it occurred to me that I should post some of it here as well …
Kalgoorlie has some iconic attractions including brothels and two-up. Tomorrow’s front page features a dispute between a brothel madam and the local council over car parking!
Last week we had a report about a prisoner who escaped from the local jail, spent the night with his girlfriend and was caught breaking back into the jail.
There are some interesting issues to manage here that don’t crop up at too many other places, but I’m enjoying it all so far.
One of my casual photographers asked me last week about the protocol for taking pictures inside a brothel, as if I’d know! I can’t imagine the customers being too keen, so all I could suggest was to ask permission first!
Karlkurla Bushland Park
This evening I followed the cycle path I described earlier, but in the opposite direction. About 400 metres from my house is the entrance to Karlkurla Bushland Park.
The park has a sealed track looping 4km through restored native vegetation. There’s a lookout tower along the route offering great views of the surrounding countrywise.
It was a pleasant evening and I really enjoyed the walk. The bush is totally different to Victoria, of course, but there’s a natural beauty about red earth that’s quintessentially Australian.
As one of my aunts told me to expect before I arrived, the bush around Kalgoorlie is more thickly forested than many easterners might imagine. The Salmon Gums in particular are delightful trees and can grow to 25 metres high.
The park has helpful interpretive signs and picnic tables. Visitors are encouraged to spread seed for Silky Pear.
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